Your Rights at School

What are my rights?

In England, Wales and Scotland the Equality Act means it is against the law for schools to discriminate against you because you have a disability. In Northern Ireland, the Special Educational Needs and Disability (NI) Order means it is against the law for schools to discriminate against you because you have a disability.

You may not think of yourself as disabled. But epilepsy is a disability when it has a substantial and long-term effect on your day-to-day activities, or it would if you were not on treatment.

Reasonable adjustments

Your school must make sure you have full access to education.  They have a legal obligation to support you and remove any barriers you face so you can access and take part the same way as students who do not have a disability. To do this your school must make reasonable adjustments.

Reasonable adjustments are changes your school must make so you are not at a disadvantage compared to other students who do not have a disability. They are specific to you and your needs. They could include:

• Providing different coloured paper to write on.
• Allowing extra time to respond to questions or complete work.
• Allowing regular breaks.
• Providing technology, like a laptop.
• Using different ways to record work such as video or audio recordings

Schools are legally obliged to work with you, your family or carers and any other professionals involved to agree the support you need.

Your school is responsible for making a record of what reasonable adjustments have been agreed and making sure all staff who work with you know about them.

Whether something is reasonable will depend on different things, like:

• If the adjustment is practical.
• The cost.
• Whether it will help.
• Any potential negative impact on others.

Will epilepsy affect my learning?

Different people have different experiences of how epilepsy affects them at school. Not every young person with epilepsy will experience difficulties learning. But some people may find they have more difficulty learning than students who don’t have epilepsy. Reasons for this can include:

• Seizures and the impact they have such as feeling tired or losing concentration.
• Side effects of anti-seizure medication such as a lack of energy or drowsiness.
• Other conditions such as autism or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder).
• Any underlying cause of epilepsy, such as a brain injury.

You may experience problems with:

• Listening to and understanding information and finding the right words (communication)
• Memory and concentration (cognition)
• Coordination. For example, finding it difficult to write, kick a ball or hit a ball with a bat (motor skills)

These can affect your learning. But there are lots of things your school can do to support you, including:

• Repeating and rephrasing information.
• Using visual prompts and aids.
• Providing information in chunks.
• Recapping information.
• Allowing additional time.
• Adapting tasks or activities.

If you are having difficulties speak to your teachers, family or carers. They are there to help you.

Young Epilepsy has developed the ABLE tool (Assessment of Behaviour and Learning in Epilepsy). It aims to help your teachers, parents or carers understand more about how epilepsy affects you and help them make sure you have the support you need.

What are special educational needs?

Special educational needs refer to any difficulties you have that make it harder to learn compared to other students your age. They can include difficulties with:

• Reading and writing.
• Your ability to understand things.
• Behaviour.
• Concentration.
• Physical abilities.

Can I get help with exams?

Access arrangements

You may be able to get additional support for your exams. These are known as access arrangements. Access arrangements can include:

• Extra time.
• Taking exams at a different time of day, such as in the afternoon if you tend to have seizures in the morning.
• Taking exams in a different place, such as in a room alone, at home or in hospital.
• A computer.
• A person to read or write for you.
• Supervised rest breaks during the exam.
• Modified test materials such as large print.

Any support you receive should reflect your normal way of working. For example, if you are given extra time to do assessments in class, you are likely to be allowed extra time in exams.

For public exams such as GCSEs or A-levels, schools decide whether support is needed by looking at rules provided by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). In Scotland, the SQA have more information on assessment arrangements.

For other tests and exams, your parents or carers should check with your school. You should speak to your school as early as possible. There may be deadlines the school needs to meet. However, a late application can be made if your epilepsy gets worse after these.

Special consideration

Special consideration means your exam mark is adjusted after the exam by the exam board. This could apply if:

• You’re fully prepared for the exam, but your performance is affected by illness, injury or something else beyond your control. For example, if you’re recovering from a seizure.
• You missed an exam for a valid reason. For example, you have a seizure just before the exam and are unable to attend.

If you think you are eligible for special consideration, you or your parents or carers should speak to your school as soon as possible. They will need to tell the exam board. The exam board will explain what support they can offer and how to apply for it.

Special consideration can also apply to coursework. You or your parents or carers should speak to your school for more information.

• Contact has more information on help with exams in England.
• SNAP Cymru has more information on exam support in Wales. 
• Enquire has more information on support with exams in Scotland.

What should I do if I have problems at school?

If you are having problems at school, you should speak to someone you trust.

If your parents or carers are worried, they can raise concerns with the school. Who they need to speak to will depend on what the concern is about. Usually, it is best to raise any concerns informally first and if that does not work, make a formal complaint.

Contact have more information about raising concerns and complaints.